Overview

Dr. Heather Schofield is an Assistant Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and The Wharton School. Dr. Schofield is an economist studying development, health, and behavioral economics. Two primary ongoing areas of research include the role of health human capital (nutrition, pain management, adequate sleep) in economic productivity, cognitive function, and decision-making and the role of financial and social incentives in promoting healthy behaviors. Dr. Schofield completed her Ph.D. in Business Economics, MS in Global Health and Population, and BA in Economics at Harvard University.

Research

Abstract: This paper is a primer for economists interested in the relationship between poverty and
cognitive function. We begin by discussing a set of underlying aspects of cognitive function
relevant to economic decision-making – attention, inhibitory control, memory, and higherorder
cognitive functions – including descriptions of validated tasks to measure each of these
areas. Next, we review literature that investigates channels through which poverty might
impact cognitive function and economic behavior, by discussing already existing knowledge
as well as less well-researched areas that warrant further exploration. We then highlight ways
in which the different aspects of cognitive function may impact economic outcomes, discussing
both theoretical models and empirical evidence. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of
open research questions and directions for future research.

Abstract: All individuals rely on a fundamental set of mental capacities and functions, or bandwidth, in their economic and non-economic lives. Yet, many factors associated with poverty, such as malnutrition, alcohol consumption, or sleep deprivation, may tax this capacity. Previous research has demonstrated that such taxes often significantly alter judgments, preferences, and decision-making. A more suggestive but growing body of evidence points toward potential effects on productivity and utility. Considering the lives of the poor through the lens of bandwidth may improve our understanding of potential causes and consequences of poverty.

Abstract: Many of the world’s poor consume very few calories; one-seventh of the world’s population remains below recommended intake levels. Yet, the impact of this nominally low caloric intake on productivity is unclear. This paper presents two analyses which find that changes in caloric intake result in substantial and broadly generalizable changes in productivity among malnourished adults in India. The first draws on a five-week randomized controlled trial among cycle-rickshaw drivers in Chennai, in which half of the participants received an additional 700 calories per day. Treated individuals showed significant improvements in both physical and cognitive tasks and increased labor supply and income by approximately 10 percent by the final week. The second study examines the impact of a 700 calorie per day decline in intake, caused by fasting during Ramadan, on agricultural production. This analysis leverages heterogeneity in cropping cycles between and within districts as well as the fact that Ramadan cycles throughout the calendar year to generate three sources of variation in the overlap between fasting and the labor intensive portions of the cropping cycle. Using a triple-difference approach, I find that overlap between Ramadan and the labor intensive portions of cropping cycles results in declines in production which correspond to a 20 to 40 percent decrease in productivity per fasting individual. Multiple sources of evidence suggest that production declines are driven primarily by reduced caloric intake rather than by other behavioral changes during Ramadan. The estimated return to investment in additional calories is positive, with point estimates of 75 percent over six months in the randomized trial and 225 percent over one month during Ramadan fasting. Given substantial evidence that traditionally hypothesized liquidity constraints do not meaningfully limit caloric consumption, the low caloric intake of the majority of Indian adults presents a puzzle in light of the high estimated returns. Responses from an incentivized survey suggest that inaccurate beliefs about both the returns to calories and the caloric content of foods may play a role in the low levels of caloric consumption.

Abstract: This study examines the impact of individually oriented, purely altruistic, and a hybrid of competitive
and cooperative monetary reward incentives on older adults’ completion of cognitive exercises and cognitive
function. We find that all three incentive structures approximately double the number of exercises
completed during the six-week active experimental period relative to a no incentive control condition.
However, the altruistic and cooperative/competitive incentives led to different patterns of participation,
with significantly higher inter-partner correlations in utilization of the software, as well as greater persistence
once incentives were removed. Provision of all incentives significantly improved performance
on the incentivized exercises. However, results of an independent cognitive testing battery suggest no
generalizable gains in cognitive function resulted from the training.

Teaching

I teach “Microeconomics for Managers” (MGEC 611 and 612), offered annually in the fall, in the Business Economics and Public Policy Department.

Current Courses

HCMG890 - Advanced Study Project

HCMG 890-001: This course examines issues related to the Services Sector of thehealth care industry. For those interested in management, investing, or bankingto the health care industry, the services sector will likely be the largest and most dynamic sector within all of health care. We will study key management issues related to a number of different health care services businesses with a focus on common challenges related to reimbursement, regulatory, margin, growth, and competitive issues. We will look at a number of different businesses and subsectors that may have been unfamiliar to students prior to taking the course. We will make extensive use of outside speakers, many of whom will be true industry leaders within different sectors of the health care services industry. Speakers will address the current management issues they face in running their businesses as well as discuss the career decisions and leadership styles that enables them to reach the top of their profession. Students will be asked to develop a plan to both buyout and manage a specific health care services business of their choosing and will present their final plans to a panel of leading Health Care Private Equity investors who will evaluate their analysis. Prerequisites: HCMG 841. Health Care Management MBA majors only Senior healthcare executives and policy leaders will be engaged as guest speakers.

HCMG890401

WH 217 - Global Modular Course: Opportunities And Challenges In Africa: Healthcare And Business In Ethiopia

WH 217401

Past Courses

HCMG890 - ADVANCED STUDY PROJECT

HCMG 890-001: This course examines issues related to the Services Sector of thehealth care industry. For those interested in management, investing, or bankingto the health care industry, the services sector will likely be the largest and most dynamic sector within all of health care. We will study key management issues related to a number of different health care services businesses with a focus on common challenges related to reimbursement, regulatory, margin, growth, and competitive issues. We will look at a number of different businesses and subsectors that may have been unfamiliar to students prior to taking the course. We will make extensive use of outside speakers, many of whom will be true industry leaders within different sectors of the health care services industry. Speakers will address the current management issues they face in running their businesses as well as discuss the career decisions and leadership styles that enables them to reach the top of their profession. Students will be asked to develop a plan to both buyout and manage a specific health care services business of their choosing and will present their final plans to a panel of leading Health Care Private Equity investors who will evaluate their analysis. Prerequisites: HCMG 841. Health Care Management MBA majors only Senior healthcare executives and policy leaders will be engaged as guest speakers.

MGEC611 - MICROECONOMICS FOR MANAG

This course establishes the micro-economic foundations for understanding business decision-making. The course will cover consumer theory and market demand under full information, market equiolibrium and government intervention, production theory and cost optimization, producing in perfectly competitive and monopoly markets, vertical relations, and game theory, including simultaneous, sequential, and infinitely repreated games. Finally, we will wrapup game theory with an application to auctionsn. Students are expected to have mastered these materials before enrolling in the second quarter course: Microechomics for Managers: Advanced Applications.

MGEC612 - MICROECON FOR MGR - ADV.

This course will cover the economic foundations of business strategy and decision-making in market environments with other strategic actors and less than full information, as well as advanced pricing strategies. Topics include oligopoly models of market competition, creation, and protection, sophisticated pricing strategies for consumers with different valuations or consumers who buy multiple units (e.g. price discrimination, bundling, two-part tariffs), strategies for managing risk and making decisions under uncertainty, asymmetric information and its consequences for markets, and finally moral hazard and principle-agent theory with application to incentive contacts.

Awards and
Honors

Roger Martin Award for Excellence in Business Economics Research, Harvard Business School, 2013

Harvard University Graduate Fellowship, 2008-2014

Harvard School of Public Health Department of Global Health and Population Thesis Prize, 2007